Le Gavroche

A foray into the world of Michelin starred restaurants is unfortunately only a once a year excursion for Y & I. However perhaps this makes it all the more exciting and special when we do indulge.

Friday night saw 10 friends converge on 2 Michelin star Le Gavroche, just off Park Lane (about 10 minute walk from Marble Arch tube station) to celebrate 5 years of London living for Y’s cousin, foodie fan and antipodean M, and to commiserate her final departure from London town as she returns to the fair shores of the colonies. And what better way to drive home to someone what they are leaving behind than the famous Michel Roux Jr’s Menu Exceptionnel a Le Gavroche?

The space
Upon entry you are immediately led down a stair case into the restaurant, which is effectively in the basement, although thankfully you don’t feel like you’re eating in a basement.

The décor is rather staid – a colour scheme of dark green and maroon, lacquered bamboo between green wall panelling, patterned carpet, wooden upholstered chairs and bunched cloud like curtains – it was rather reminiscent of a hotel lobby. Not a good hotel lobby either.

The table, I loved. La Gavroche is named after an urchin in Les Miserables and the cute but very chilled urchin figure is used throughout the restaurant, down to the handles of our cutlery, which were mini Gavroches. Crisp white table linen, silver bowls of salt, good glassware, and a fabulous 30cm high silver sculpture of a goat (other tables had a rooster, frog, birds, pigs – I have just looked them up on the Le Gavroche website and you can buy them for between £2,000 - £5,500!). Each setting had a large plate with the design below of Michel Roux Jr on it, which also appeared on the menus.

It all verged on twee, but for me it was still clean and modern and it worked. What I didn’t like was having a card on the table advertising Michel’s latest cook book (am I not spending enough money here already?). This beautiful table was slightly incongruous with the rest of the room, but frankly, something was needed to pull the space 10 years forward into the present day, and the table setting did this admirably.

The Service
The service was very French. There were 15 – 20 waiters on the floor at all times, in a restaurant that only had about 15 tables. The waiters appeared incapable of multi-tasking (as this would disrupt the strict hierarchy whereby the person offering the bread cannot stoop so low as to pour water – or would it be the other way around?) and therefore moved in packs of 3 or 4 at all times.

There was a lot of hovering going on. It was excessive. Excessive can be good, but not when it is inefficient, which this was. On the one hand, waiters would break into a desperate canter in order to beat you to the bathroom door to open it for you and then race you back to your seat in order to pull out the chair for you, whilst on the other hand, I was looking for a refill of my empty water glass on at least 3 occasions and toward the end of the night one of our party had to ask a waiter for the toilet paper in the bathroom to be restocked.

If the floor is to be cluttered with waiters and the whole operation runs like clockwork, then brilliant, but if it doesn’t then what, pray tell, is the point?

It also appeared that the pregnant lady in our party was the first they’d ever served, because the whole concept that she couldn’t eat several of the ingredients of the menu initially threw them totally.

The Food

We ordered the 8 course degustation menu, Menu Exceptionnel (some people chose the option of having matched wines with each course, while others shared several bottles of wine). The food was very well executed and beautiful. We were first brought hors d'oeuvres (above) which were a blue cheese concoction on a little toast and a seafoody tartlet (I suspect this is exactly how Michel Roux Jr describes them also). Both were excellent.

The degusation menu went a little something like this:

Duck foie gras rolled in gingerbread crumbs, dried fruit steeped in brandy (above) – it’s foie gras and it’s a French restaurant, so of course it was delicious. What I particularly liked was the inspired combo of gingerbread and foie gras - Fabulous! (try smearing on a bit of foie gras next time you’re munching on a gingerbread man).

Raw marinated yellow fin tuna with spicy ginger and sesame dressing (above) – a lovely, light, Asian style dish which was a nice break from the otherwise creamy, rich French food. I loved the way it was served in a small glass cone sitting on ice.

Langoustines & pigs trotters in a light mustard sauce (above) – The pigs trotters were the star performer here! Such a delicious taste with a rather gelatinous texture (to steal the description of fellow diner M). I’m not mustard’s biggest fan, but I still found the sauce nice and velvety.

Sea bass with parsnips, garlic and shallots (above) – not about to set the world on fire, but a straight forward, great dish. Excellently cooked fish.

Cheese soufflé cooked on double cream (above) – it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to work out that this was going to be a very rich course! It was delectably creamy and delicious, and after 3 mouthfuls I downed tools and admitted defeat. (I think I felt my arteries exclaim in delight and gratitude)

Rack of Balmoral venison, green pepper and cranberry sauce (above) – the most perfectly cooked venison – so succulent and scrumptious. A young waiter enthusiastically (and with vigorous wrist action) lavished our venison with cranberry sauce at the table, only to be reprimanded afterwards by another waiter (clearly a step or two up the hierarchy) “you are a waiter, not an artist”. In my opinion, flamboyant administering of cranberry sauce is essential!

Selection of French & British farmhouse cheese (above) – I’m about to commit sacrilege, I know, but, unlike every single other person I know, I’m not a huge cheese fan. Don’t get me wrong – I’m still human, so I do enjoy a yummy blue cheese, or a creamy goats cheese, on a sliver of toast with quince paste or fig relish – but I don’t really know my cheeses. However, from the silence that descended on the table, and the groans of appreciation that replaced the previously frenetic pace of conversation, I think I can confidently give the cheese course two thumbs up.

Classic upside down caramelised apple tart with vanilla ice cream (above) – beautiful pastry with a delicious scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Café et petit fours (above) – whilst previous courses were very well spaced, the petit fours were thrust upon us when we had barely received our tarte tatin. Although it was by this time about 1am and the waiters must have been longing for us to leave. The petis fours included a chocolate macaroon and a toffee covered gooseberry.

Michel Roux Jr did several times come out of the kitchen (I was impressed just to discover he was in fact in there) and chat to several tables – he came and had a joke with us and seemed lovely.

The food at Le Gavroche really shines (and it would want to if you’re going to give up a tidy sum for the privilege) and made the whole experience an extremely good one, in spite of the over the top, under performing service.

Our same group of diners had last year enjoyed an incredible experience at the Chef’s Table at Marcus Wareing at the Berkeley. We couldn’t help but compare the two and find in favour of Marcus. Possibly an unfair comparison, as eating at the Chef’s Table is just such an “experience” in itself. In any event, I thought Le Gavroche was very good, and the food, in particular, excellent.

We stumbled out of the restaurant at 1.30am, our stomachs heavier and our purses far far lighter …

Farewell to the gorgeous M! We will all miss you and thank you for all the wonderful foodie occasions we’ve been able to share with you in London!